Spain-Portugal Massive Blackout: 5 Facts You Need to Know

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TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A massive power outage in Spain and Portugal on Monday, April 28, 2025 has raised serious concerns for the local government.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Tuesday said that the power outage that left most parts of Spain and Portugal without electricity for several hours "should not happen again."

"What happened yesterday cannot happen again. This event must not be repeated. We understand the media have questions, we have questions too, and we will answer them all," said the Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Tuesday, April 29, 2025, as quoted by Xinhua.

The Spanish electricity network operator, Red Electrica, confirmed the widespread power outage across the country. The company is working to restore the power supply and analyze the cause.

"All resources have been mobilized to address this issue," Red Electrica stated in a post on the social media platform X.

Here are 5 facts to know about the blackout.

1. Atmospheric Phenomenon

The electricity provider in Portugal, Redes Energeticas Nacionais (REN), stated that a rare atmospheric phenomenon had caused severe temperature imbalances.

"Due to extreme temperature variations in the interior of Spain, there were anomalous oscillations in the very high voltage lines (400 kV), a phenomenon known as ‘induced atmospheric vibration'," REN said as quoted from Al Jazeera.

Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro stated that the issue originated from Spain.

However, on Tuesday, April 29, 2025, the Spanish national meteorological office, Aemet, did not find any evidence of that claim.

"During the day of 28 April, no unusual meteorological or atmospheric phenomena were detected, and nor were there sudden variations in the temperature in our network of meteorological stations," Aemet said.

2. No Evidence of Cyber Attack

European Council President Antonio Costa stated that there is no evidence yet that a cyber attack caused the widespread power outage in Spain and Portugal.

Costa mentioned that he had communicated by phone with Pedro Sanchez and Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro regarding the power outage in both countries.

"Grid operators in both countries are working on finding the cause and on restoring the electricity supply," Costa said through the social media platform X on Monday, April 28, 2025.

3. National Emergency

Millions of people were thrown into chaos after a massive blackout paralyzed several regions, halting train services, forcing planes to land, disrupting internet access, and cutting off mobile phone communication.

The outage also caused traffic lights and ATMs to go offline and interfered with routine hospital operations.

In response, the Spanish Interior Ministry declared a national emergency. Emergency cabinet meetings were held in both Spain and Portugal as authorities worked to identify the cause of the outage.

The Spanish government declared a state of emergency in Andalusia, Extremadura, Murcia, La Rioja, and Madrid. Following a late-night cabinet session, Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro announced an energy crisis. Portugal’s electricity grid operator warned that restoring full power would be a complex process.

4. Madrid Open Postponed

The matches scheduled for Monday, April 28, 2025, at the Madrid Open were postponed due to a widespread power outage. At the time the blackout occurred at 12:34 PM local time, two singles matches and one doubles match in the ATP Masters 1000 tournament were already in progress.

The outage disabled electronic line-calling systems and the spider cameras positioned above the courts at Manolo Santana Stadium. Grigor Dimitrov was leading Jacob Fearnley 6-4, 5-4 when play was halted.

When the match resumed with Dimitrov holding match point at 5-2, 30-40 in the second set, Fearnley managed to hold serve and broke back in the next game, keeping his hopes alive in their first-ever meeting.

Earlier, Matteo Arnaldi had secured a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Damir Dzumhur to move into the fourth round before all remaining matches were called off for the day.

5. Public Transport Paralyzed

The Spanish national railway operator, Renfe, reported a nationwide power grid failure at 12:30 local time, bringing all train services to a complete stop and halting departures at every station. The outage also left people stuck in elevators across office buildings and residential complexes.

Meanwhile in Portugal, the blackout stretched from north to south, affecting multiple cities including Lisbon. Tram services in the capital were suspended, leading to heavy traffic congestion in the city center.